The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has added to yesterday's gains, finishing the day up 0.68%. The gains followed strong performances on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both added 1.2%.
Most sectors showed gains with strong performances from the energy sector after a takeover offer for Aurora Oil & Gas was announced. Other sectors doing well included gold, resources and consumer discretionary. The only sectors to end the day in the red were real estate and telecoms.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd (ASX: AUT) soared 56.1% to $4.09
- Forge Group Ltd (ASX: FGE) jumped 20.6% to 82 cents
- AWE Ltd (ASX: AWE) gained 11.2% to $1.385
- Buru Energy Ltd (ASX: BRU) climbed 8.9% to $1.95
- Medusa Mining Ltd (ASX: MML) added 8.6% to $2.03
These stocks were the losers on the day.
- Goodman Fielder Ltd (ASX: GFF) dropped 3.8% to 64 cents
- Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) lost 2.9% to 33 cents
- Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) slipped 2.4% to $9.94
- Westfield Retail Trust (ASX: WRT) declined 2.3% to $2.96
- Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) closed down 1.8% to 27.5 cents
